Ponting backs Langer for WA coaching gig

Justin Chadwick, Wayne Heming and Greg Buckle

It's a marriage made in heaven: Test great Justin Langer returning to coach Western Australia in their hour of need.

Langer is the raging hot favourite to land the top gig at the Warriors after Lachlan Stevens quit his post on Wednesday, citing personal reasons.

It left WA with no coach, no captain and little hope this season of breaking a title drought dating back to 2004.

The WACA will discuss its coaching options over coming days, with Langer certain to be at the top of their list.

Advertisement

Langer was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

But his good friend, former Test captain Ricky Ponting, gave Langer a glowing endorsement to coach WA, even if it meant Australia would lose his services as the team's batting coach.

"I must admit I love having him around here a bit more. He is a great mate of mine and someone who had a big impact on the way my game had turned around in the last six or eight months," Ponting said.

"He's worked tirelessly and endlessly on trying to get my technique back to where it needed to be to be a good international player.

"Hypothetically, if he happened to leave, it would be a great loss for the Australian cricket team but I think it would be a great gain for the West Australian cricket team."

Langer, a resilient opener who averaged 45.27 during his decorated 105-Test career for Australia, is a legend in WA cricket ranks.

The 41-year-old is a former captain of the Warriors, is the state's highest run-scorer in four-day cricket and is renowned for his tireless work ethic.

WA cricket - in the midst of an eight-year title drought - is in desperate need of a shake-up after a horror start to the summer.

The Warriors have copped three-day thrashings in each of their three Sheffield Shield games this season, while a boozy night out in South Africa overshadowed the Perth Scorchers' Champions League T20 campaign.

Marcus North stood down as skipper following that tour, with Adam Voges tipped to replace him for the rest of the season.

Stevens, who took over as WA coach from Mickey Arthur last November, told WACA management several weeks ago of his intention to walk away from the Warriors at the end of this season.

But with WA flailing on the field, Stevens decided it was in the team's best interests for him to make a quick exit, using Wednesday's one-day match against Victoria as his swan song.

A lack of player discipline has been a major headache for the WACA in recent years, and Stevens said there were a number of issues that still needed to be resolved.

WACA chief executive Christina Matthews described Langer as a "WA sporting legend", and said the board would start the discussions on how to replace Stevens on Wednesday night.